Which is worse?

W

WVHILLS

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in a wilderness survival situation (lost, stranded, seperated) which of these ailments would be the worst?

ingrown infected toenail

abscess tooth

broken finger or toe

Also would you attempt to self medicate, set bones, or minor surgery on yourself or a friend? or simply try to "tough it out" until you could get help?
 
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I have had all 3.

No contest, the abscess tooth will make you suicidal given enough time without treatment. The infection will kill you eventually as well.

I would attempt self treatment a la Tom Hanks eventually as the pain is indescribeable.

The others are minor issues of annoyance and easily treated.

Skam
 
Id have to go with ingrown infected toenail because it could eventually affect your ability to walk and if you cant walk you dont stand much of a chance. with the infection there is a very real chance you could die if it goes untreaded. I have had broken fingers before and have reset the bones myself, its no big deal just an pain in the ass but you do have another hand. Ive never had an abscess tooth but I would imagine you could find some way to pull it or at least chew on the other side of your mouth.
 
Since I like food so much, I think the abscess tooth would be the worst thing for me :p.
 
The abscess tooth will break and kill you so I will go with the tooth. Penicillian is your friend.
 
I was actually thinking of making my leatherman crunch part of my main kit in case I need to yank a tooth. Much better then a rock.
 
The tooth by a long shot, the others can stop hurting if you rest the offending digit but the tooth will make you crazy as hell!

Jules.
 
1. Absessed Tooth - for reason mentioned above. The pain is horrible and of course the infection is quite dangerous if not treated.

2. Ingrown infected toenail - again because of the infection while I would bet it would take longer for an infected toenail a problem, it's still an infection.

3. Broken digits. Broken digits, unless compound or crushed, are pretty straight forward to deal with. Yes they're quite painful but manageable.

That's my ranking but I am no expert.

Charlie
 
I've had the absessed tooth as a kid and it did not hurt- just broke into a couple of pieces after it started leaking out pus and was thus removed. If left untreated it could get serious but I think this would only be a problem on a very long term survival (stranded on an island etc.) I get ingrown toenails that I take care of myself but occasionally get infected and I've never died from it and don't take antibiotics for it.

I would think that a bad break to a major toe bone (tarsals or metatarsals included)would be worse to me as it impairs mobility, and has the potential for a much worse infection IMO, and would make it much harder for foraging, hunting, and returning to civilization. Of course loss of mobility is a big factor to me recently, and I am looking at the scenarios as being able to eventually found- as I don't fly over seas, nor get too far away from some form of human habitat.

Just my opinion based on my experiences- others mileage will vary.
 
CShepherd said:
1. Absessed Tooth - for reason mentioned above. The pain is horrible and of course the infection is quite dangerous if not treated.

2. Ingrown infected toenail - again because of the infection while I would bet it would take longer for an infected toenail a problem, it's still an infection.

3. Broken digits. Broken digits, unless compound or crushed, are pretty straight forward to deal with. Yes they're quite painful but manageable.
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+1

I have suffered from ingrown infected toenail and after struggling with it a few times myself and going to de doc and having half of the nail cut and pulled out.... I have found that the one and only fair method to deal with it is ... time... and antibiotics. Once the nail shows up in the front of the toe... things improve fast but you have to suffer a lot untill that happens (they grow like 1mm a week or so). You get used to it...

I guess that broken toes would be more of a deal than fingers... because they may restrict your mobility badly.

Mikel
 
I think the infected tooth wins the "prize" 'cause it's in your head, presenting a good chance of knocking out the Main Computer = no walk, no talk, no breath.
 
Thomas Linton said:
I think the infected tooth wins the "prize" 'cause it's in your head, presenting a good chance of knocking out the Main Computer = no walk, no talk, no breath.
Click to expand...

It happens very quickly as well as apposed to a long onset of trouble for the other 2.

Skam
 
Wow, lucky me. I've never had an abscessed tooth, or ingrown nail. I'd go with a the broken finger, would be the easiest to self treat, regardless of how haphazard it is.
 
CShepherd said:
1. Absessed Tooth - for reason mentioned above. The pain is horrible and of course the infection is quite dangerous if not treated.

2. Ingrown infected toenail - again because of the infection while I would bet it would take longer for an infected toenail a problem, it's still an infection.

3. Broken digits. Broken digits, unless compound or crushed, are pretty straight forward to deal with. Yes they're quite painful but manageable.

That's my ranking but I am no expert.

Charlie
Click to expand...

There is no question, you are correct. The toenail can be cured in a short period of time if treated properly and the broken digit is uncomfortable, but not life threatening. The tooth will kill you, if left untreated, and the amount of durress it would add to the situation is almost to much to bear. I would be proud of myself for bringing my Gerber multitool...a painful and bloody yank, and you would be on your way to getting better.
 
I had an abscessed tooth for a few weeks once, and I was dealing with the pain okay...until I hiked the Cape Scott trail one weekend. It's 30 kms each way, and it was freezing cold and pouring rain and gale force winds the whole time. Between the thirty klick hike two days in a row, and the cold wearing me down, I really found the pain unpleasant, so I gave up and went to the dentist a couple of days later.

In a survival situation I would expect that the infection would proceed rapidly, as the tough weekend sure made a big, nasty change in my condition.
 
The abscess tooth. Though I have never had one, my brother went through the pain and that was enough for me.
 
TOOTH.
The mouth is the most painful and difficult thing to treat. Toenail can be cut and bandaged. Finger can be splinted or just wrapped to an adjacent finger.
 
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